Is Jesse Lee Soffer leaving Chicago PD? Jay Halstead’s goodbye
As we prepare for tonight’s season 10 episode 3, we have a sinking fear that it could be the longtime series regular’s final installment of the show; Halstead is not mentioned in any upcoming synopses beyond it, and we’ve known for weeks now that he would be departing the show. That doesn’t make any of this easier, especially given all of the rumors that this exit was financial in nature and had nothing to do with what the actor actually wanted. (There are clear parallels to the impending exit of Kelli Giddish over on Law & Order: SVU later this season.)
Of course, losing the actor is not an easy thing to accept, and that’s without even considering how he is saying goodbye to the world of the NBC show. We worried in advance that he would be killed off, mostly due to the fact that it’s so hard to imagine Jay willingly leaving Chicago on his own similar to Casey’s exit on Chicago Fire. This is a married man and someone who has put his all into trying to make Intelligence a better place — even if that meant challenging his own superior in Hank Voight. We’ve been frustrated by his story in the first two episodes, mostly because it’s felt out of line to the Halstead we have seen over the years.
So what happened? Well, Halstead stabbed a man. He continued down the dark road we’ve seen for him as of late. After the fact, Voight tried to come up with a cover but Jay wouldn’t accept it. It’s why he went into the bureau of Organized Crime and decided to “tell the truth.” Despite the recent dark turn, he still had a conscience that he was battling. It’s why he chose to resign, and why he opted to leave Intelligence and go back to the Army. He feels like he has a purpose here, and a chance to impact more lives.
So Halstead is gone, but he’s not necessarily gone forever. Still, the end of this episode was distressing, including him taking this military job without talking to Hailey about it at all in advance. Sure, it may only be for eight months … but will that really be the case?
Related – Get some more news on Chicago PD as we prepare for tonight’s big episode
Are you still frustrated and/or sad that Jesse Lee Soffer is leaving Chicago PD?
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